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Islamabad. Pakistan’s meeting with the International Monetary Fund, which is facing its biggest economic crisis, has ended. According to Pakistani media reports, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar described the meeting as very positive, under which the government is going to make many changes. Dar pointed out that Pakistan would have to tax Rs 170 billion through a mini-budget to revive the loan programme.
Speaking to the media, the Pakistan minister confirmed that the country has received the draft memorandum of economic and financial policies from the Washington-based lender. He also reiterated that the program being implemented by the present government is the same one that former Prime Minister Imran Khan had signed with the IMF in 2019-2020. The current government is negotiating to reach an agreement as a “sovereign commitment”, he said, adding, “It is an old agreement that was first suspended and later deferred”.
Capacity reduced to just 10 days
Pakistan, which has come close to default, is now looking forward to eradicating its poverty from the IMF. Although many conditions of IMF have troubled him. Pakistan is not even able to deal with its food crisis after the dwindling dollar reserves. According to media reports, for the first time in nine years, the country’s foreign exchange reserves have slipped below $3 billion ($2.9 billion). With this money, Pakistan will be able to pay its export bills for only ten days.
